Kind of Perfect
by Jack Rafferty
Summary: As Emma prepares for high school graduation and college, Rachel and Ross reminisce on the past fifteen years of marriage. Mainly RR, some CM and PM. Some chapters rated R, eventually. WIP.
1. Nostalgia

**Disclaimer:** Going to repeat this only _once_ – it's fairly obvious I don't own them, not making a profit off of them either, but I do currently own $7.56 in change, which is probably saved up for the tenth season DVD.

**A/N:** After writing two or three consecutively semi-depressing chapters, I've started this with a lot of fluffy and happy stuff. I've delayed the first two chapters since real life intervened. Anyways, this chapter's shorter since it's a prologue – it's post-finale, serving as a sequel (and a prequel) to "Five Words," not that I'm plugging…

**Kind of Perfect**

Nostalgia

Cameras flashed and shuttered brightly across the room.

Rachel stood with her arm slipped around her husband's back as he proudly took pictures of Emma along with her friends, standing side-by-side their respective dates for several poses. Other parents – most of them also from the same neighborhood, even Monica and Chandler had driven from their Westchester home – resumed taking photos, elated for their children, in the Gellers' Scarsdale home on one of the more monumental events of a teenager's life.

Senior prom night.

Emma looked radiantly stunning in a blue strapless vintage dress, accentuating her blue eyes – almost matching the same shade like her mother. While most of her hair had been tied into a bun, some strands of her hair flowing freely down, resting on her shoulders and glistening a similar shade of dirty blonde. People often reminded her of how she was almost the exact replica of Rachel in her teens. Fortunately, the nose job wasn't necessary.

Reminiscent of Rachel, she had been the class president (with an almost perfect GPA – that characteristic acquired from her father), the head cheerleader, the homecoming queen and the favorite to win prom queen – and even though Emma and Christine had been for the most part spoiled by their grandpa Green, they managed to have been raised by Ross and Rachel to both more self-sufficient than Rachel, Amy and Jill could have wished or hoped for at the same age.

Erica, one of Emma's best friends and cousin, also looked vibrantly gorgeous with her normally wavy, naturally blonde hair that had been straightened for the night. She wore a simple, yet elegant green dress she had found and adored while shopping with her cousin. Erica had been able to procure a date through Emma's boyfriend's friend, who was also a mutual friend within their clique.

Numerous variations of "have a great time" and "have fun" were articulated as the group of teenagers headed out the door and into a black limo. As the limo pulled away from the house, the other parents also retreated home as Ross and Rachel walked back into their home, shutting the main door behind them.

--

In a couple weeks, Emma was going to be graduating from Edgemont High School as one of the class's two valedictorians. Her parents, obviously, were extremely proud of all of the accomplishments.

As Rachel strolled past her daughter's room, she observed the boxes scattered started cluttering her oldest daughter's room, which was definitely more of a Green trait than a Geller. One or two of them taped shut, while several others open as the boxes waited for more of her belongings to be placed inside. There were also several compact discs and DVDs dispersed about the messy room, most of them not in their cases.

And yet as each day went by, her room slowly became and felt emptier. The posters that used to adorn her walls were now substituted with the room's original white walls.

In about another three months or so, Ross and Rachel Geller's oldest daughter would be moving out and heading west: southern California, to be precise, where she'd be beginning her first semester at the University of California, Los Angeles as her apartment was a short drive from her Uncle Joey and Aunt Alex Tribianni's place.

And although there were phone calls to be made and e-mails to be sent, the thought of Emma not being around daily and available saddened both Rachel and Ross. And being quite the emotional person she had made a reputation of, it even made her weepy at times.

It was pretty much the same experience that Ross went through with Ben about seven or eight years ago when Ben had been accepted to a college in and moved down to Florida. Now, he recently turned twenty-five. Luckily, Christine – who was more Ross than Rachel, but nonetheless, a much more-balanced combination of her parents – would still be around for a few more years… _hopefully_.

--

"So, whose bright idea was it to get _Miss Congeniality_ again, let alone _Miss Congeniality 2_?" Rachel inquired, holding up the aforementioned discs as she placed them down on the latest Pottery Barn table.

"Chandler," Ross informed. "Go figure. _Miss Congeniality_ is also Emma's favorite movie…"

"Ah, well. The first one _is_ better." She nodded, flashing that patented gorgeous smile of hers and twinkle in her eyes that _still_ made him melt. "Anyways, while I was looking through Emma's stuff, I found this…"

"What is it?" he asked, sitting down on a leather sofa as Rachel placed the disc into the DVD player. She sat next to Ross on the sofa as she pressed the 'play' button on the remote, laying her legs across and head on Ross's lap and shoulder as she ran her hands through her now shorter, still dirty brownish-blonde hair. Finally, her hands interlocked with his, making them seem tiny in comparison.

Yet, they fit – almost _too_ perfectly.

Aside from his couple strands of gray embedded in his hair, Ross didn't seem to age much at all. And while he was still fit, his body and muscles were no longer as toned or defined as they were when he was younger.

"You'll see," she replied, coolly.

Of course, they, like many other married couples, had had their fair share of ups and downs – definitely more from the former category than the latter. After almost fifteen years of marriage to his "lobster," it was the little things and special moments like these that Ross treasured and could never get tired of – and it was also something Rachel wouldn't exchange, not even for all the store credit in the world.

"_Over here, Jack. Okay, I see Rachel's coming up the path. Oh, doesn't she look pretty? Jack, get this,_" Judy instructed him, echoing from the television.

Rachel hit the pause button on the remote, looking at Ross, "So, honey, you sure you want to watch?"

"Of course," he approved as grinning that goofy yet charming smile that _still_ made her melt as he leaned into give her a soft kiss on the lips. "I'm sure. In the long-run, we _both_ know how it all ends..."

"I still can't believe you were going to do that for me, Ross." She gazed long into his still intensely brown eyes with him reciprocating. She replied somewhere in between a tone of teasing and seriousness, "I love you, Mr. Rachel."

"I love you too, Mrs. Ross," he affirmed in a similar fashion, giving her another shorter kiss on the lips before she pressed the button, resuming the film from her prom. He cozily draped his arm across her back, leaving the hand on her right shoulder as she gravitated towards him, snuggling as he placed a thin comforter over them.

"_Get a shot of Monica. Where's Monica?_" Judy continued.

As Rachel and Ross stared intently at the television screen, their thoughts were mostly wandering elsewhere, reflecting contentedly back on the past fifteen years together…


	2. Barbados

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. They inflate my non-existent ego – and I do envision this being a long story unless I get bored of it. Finally, the chapter has some strong sexual content, not bad or explicit enough to warrant a change into an R-rating – but if it is too much, do feel free to leave a review saying so, I'll up the rating…

Barbados

As the final day of the past fourteen drew to a close, the sun beamed – almost as though the sky were bleeding – a bright yellowish-orange and sluggishly laid on the horizon, transcending into parts of the picturesque and vivid navy-bluish sky – not, almost mockingly, quite prepared to succumb to the nightfall, which seemed perfectly content in waiting.

Taking another sip from her second strawberry daiquiri through the straw, Rachel dug her toes further into the gritty beige sand, sitting comfortably on one of the lounge chairs provided by the exquisite hotel. She watched as her future stepson chased around her auburn-haired daughter just a few feet away, neither really showing any signs of fatigue or relenting.

The sparkling, crystal blue waves gently collided against the shore, washing away the remnants of the now-defunct sand castle that Emma helped Ben build. Earlier in the day, it once stood proudly and prominent above the other granular grains of sand – and now, the foundation slowly crumbled as each tide took its turn taking constant and soft swipes.

She could hardly believe how fast Ben had grown-up. And maybe denial had played a small role in it, seeing as it would've been admittance – or at least, an acceptance or acknowledgement – that she, too, was getting older. Nonetheless, it felt as though it were only yesterday when she was changing his diapers while he had uttered his first word (one of the special moments she would never forget). Next year, he would be turning eleven, a couple shy of becoming a teenager.

And like Emma, Ben was almost the exact carbon copy of Carol. The only distinct trait acquired from his father had been that innocuous smile, right down to the how those lips curved themselves making them innocent – and at the same time, so deceivingly mischievous. Rachel had dated enough that she could tell that Ben would eventually have his fair share of breaking hearts in his teenaged years.

Extending his arm out to help her up, her fiancée approached her from behind as he handed her a sarong, helping her up as he pulled her in and kissed her on the neck – just the way he knew she'd love (even to this day), "Hey."

"Hi," she replied after ending their intimate moment to wrap the piece of cloth tightly around her waist, covering up the lower portion of her two-piece.

Subconsciously fiddling with her engagement ring that made Monica and Phoebe jealous, she casually observed as Ross joined Ben in double-teaming Emma, snickering at how the little girl obliviously thought she was eluding and outmaneuvering the other two. After several minutes, Emma conceded, allowing her father to swoop her into his arm. Emma yawned and stretched her tiny arms, sort of blurring the words together, "Got me, daddy…"

Utilizing his free arm, Ross draped it loosely across Rachel's back as she brushed up against him, tilting her head slightly to rest on his chest. She loved that feeling of security that seemingly only he could provide. And maybe it was being slightly cocky or arrogant to think so, but it had been one of the many reasons she thought her and Ross would eventually be on again several years ago. And to some people, Rachel and Ross (on paper) didn't seem to make sense or that their personalities conflicted "too much." Yet, they somehow made it work for over a year now.

Rachel tenderly rubbed invisible circles on the small of his back with her thumb before tucking her right arm around the lower portion of his back as her hand found their normal resting spot on his hip. With Ben walking in front of them and Emma falling asleep within a matter of minutes, they headed back towards the hotel.

---

With Emma still intact, Ross swapped her in his other arm, enabling him to retrieve the key card from his pocket and slid both key cards, which opened the doors to adjoining rooms. He walked into the room containing two beds as Ben followed him in. Carefully, he laid Emma down on her bed, placing a thin blanket over her body. And with the quartet going out to a restaurant for dinner later in the night, he knew better than to wake her up now, knowing how cranky she could get without or being disturbed from that sleep.

Plopping down onto the plush sofa, he turned on the television, lowering the volume to the point where the volume was just a tad above audible. Flipping through the channels, he saw Ben with a towel, heading towards the shower. Rachel sauntered flirtatiously into the room, nestling on his lap and facing him as he tucked the loose strands of hair covering her face behind her ear.

"Mm Ross," she murmured throatily yet showed some hesitancy in her voice, breaking the comfortable silence and serenity between them. "When I was watching, um, Emma and Ben today, it made me want another one. I miss those days when they're little – maybe not now, but you know, eventually…"

If you had told the "old" Rachel at Lincoln High that she would have dated the shy and "geeky" Ross Geller (or as she had referred to him then simply as "Monica's older brother") – let alone plan on marrying, have a beautiful daughter with him (with thoughts of having another), she probably would've thought she was going insane. And yet here she was, engaged to the man she had loved for possibly the longest time: her best _male_ friend, her first real love, her lobster, her Ross…

And babies had been on Rachel's mind a lot lately, probably more than she would've liked to admit. Of course, she didn't want to look that far ahead or perhaps take the risk of jinxing it, but the possibility enthralled her. This same prospect that frightened her several years back when Ross was _already_ thought about it after only six weeks of dating. However, as their relationship continued to grow with each passing day, week and month, it seemed more real and the less it petrified her. Right now, she wanted the whole wedding and marriage, enjoying that part first before having another child. She imagined having preferably another girl – but the second being a more like Ross. She feared how he would react, especially when he found out about Emma. Then again, that had been a completely different situation back then.

"I'd like that too, but for now, one thing at a time," he teased, punctuating his joking sentiment by kissing the bridge of her nose.

"I love you," she whispered, running her hands through his slightly gelled hair and flicking her tongue in his ear, knowing full well that the latter would leave him craving for more. "Anyways, I've really gotta shower."

"You too, sweetie," he uttered, still recovering from what transpired. Watching her stroll off into their room, Ross's eyes gradually drifted back onto a rerun of a documentary on the History Channel, and then darted to Emma… and if only there were someone else in the room to watch her, he would've pursued Rachel back into their room.

_Damn_, he whined to himself.

---

Despite making reservations a month in advance, they'd finally settled into their table at one of the more luxurious restaurants after almost a half-an-hour wait – one that was situated on a cliff that overlooked and had a breathtakingly view of the beach and the Caribbean Sea – adding the fact that it _was_ a Saturday night.

While both Ross and Ben wore a white-button shirt and both had a different shade of khaki pants, Rachel wore a simple, crimson red dress with thin spaghetti straps, ending a few inches below the knees and a long, single slit running down the side, revealing a span of her smooth left thigh and leg along with a pair of strappy, black stiletto heels – and Emma had a pink skirt that Rachel had bought with a black top and, notwithstanding the moderately warm temperature, brown snow boots. Rachel loved dressing Emma up in cute little outfits, one of the many perks of working in fashion.

As the stars emblazed the cloudless midnight blue skies, harmonious music played about in the background and the candlelit tables set a comfortable and tranquil ambiance as the lady, probably in her late-twenties to early-thirties, waited on their table.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll have the fresh Caribbean lobster with the garlic lime and herb butter," Rachel divulged, prying her eyes away from and closing the menu as she smiled vibrantly at her fiancé, "…and a glass of the merlot."

"And I'll have the beef tenderloin with a glass of the sauvignon blanc," Ross smiled back, chiming in and also ordering for Emma, "…and she'll have the penne asiago."

The woman continued to jot down each of their orders, Ben patiently waited before adding, "Chicken parmigiano… and a soda."

When the waitress arrived with their drinks, Rachel made a toast as Ross and Ben lifted their glasses, "…to a fantastic couple of weeks."

Another fifteen- to twenty-minutes later, a couple of the waitresses handed them their food, everything looking and smelling savory. And several more minutes later, most of the food on the plate had been consumed as the waitress arrived again, handing the receipt to Ross.

"Thanks for the dinner, Geller," Rachel appreciated, leaning into him to sneak in a glance at the bill; however, Ross quickly slipped in his credit card inside.

"No problem, Green," he responded, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to warm her up as the chilly air started to settle in. "So, have you told Monica that Phoebe's going to be your maid of honor?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded and paused, considering Monica had been her best friend since they were little girls growing up in the same neighborhood. "She was dejected, but she understood."

Sympathetically, Ross shook his head, whispering in her ear, "If it weren't for Phoebe, you'd probably be in Paris right now and all of this might not have…"

"Ross, _come_ on, you don't know that," Rachel rationalized, cutting him off. "I mean, I _thought_ Paris was what I wanted. It took me awhile, but you don't know how glad I am you showed up – you kept me from probably making the biggest mistake…"

Noticing the mush brewing taking place between his father and his fun aunt Rachel, Ben grabbed his iPod from his pocket – the one Rachel and Ross had given him for his tenth birthday – after some insistence and persuasion on Ben's and Rachel's part, respectively.

She continued, sounding almost wise beyond her years, "Besides, the most important thing I've learned these past eleven years is that sometimes you've got to sacrifice what you want now for something better to come along. And I did: I've got an amazing job that is _so_ much better than any job Paris could offer, an incredibly supportive and unbelievably wonderful boyfriend, and an adorable daughter to name a few…"

True, Ross had done some extremely stupid things (actually, they both did), but he had also done some extraordinarily sweet things for her and for others over the years. In fact, for every single thing he had done wrong, there were probably four or five selfless things he had done to offset some of the negative.

"So, no regrets then?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow at her.

"None," she confidently reiterated, smiling a grin so easily and effervescently, "whatsoever."

---

It had been somewhere around ten-thirty or eleven when the foursome retreated back to their hotel rooms for the night. Shortly thereafter, Emma had already fallen asleep in her stroller as her mother lead the way. And once Ben went to bed, Rachel and Ross went into their room where Rachel got into a skimpy two-piece while Ross got into a pair of swimming trunks, grabbing a couple of the freshly-laundered towels before heading out the hotel's swimming pool.

Ross jumped straight into the warm water, creating several ripples around him. Rachel set down the room's card key on one of the metallic tables and laid the towels on the ground by the pool. Tying her hair into a bun, she quickly jumped into the pool, splashing the water at and onto him. With Ben and Emma, they rarely had alone time together, except for late at night. However, most of the time in the past two week the younger ones wore them out, so they definitely cherished the time together as though they were two teenagers romping around, instead of adults somewhere in their mid-thirties.

She threw her arms around his neck while he ran his hands up and down her sides, engaging in a deep, drawn-out kiss as their tongues established for position in the other's mouth. His hands glided down her ass to her legs; fingers tugged at the string of her bikini bottom and slid underneath the fabric. They had remember the time after their first date when she laughed at the thought of him grabbing her ass, but at this point, it had almost become instinct and second nature to both. Rachel drew out a ragged breath and a slight moan when he'd inserted a finger inside her at first, then another.

She bit down hard on his shoulder to prevent herself yelling out loud, so they wouldn't get caught. As his fingers continually slowly and teasingly pushed in and pulled out of her, her moans grew louder before climaxing and falling limply into his arms, "Shit, Ross…"

Damn his hands.

His damn gifted hands.

Shortly thereafter, their hands pulled at each other's bottoms as they eventually came down, propped up against one of the pool's walls as his erect penis grazed her thigh. With her supporting by his toned arms, those silky legs now firmly cradled his abdomen as he placed his hands up against the edges of the pool.

With both of their eyes were shut, he kissed her fiercely, tearing apart from her lips momentarily to mention aloud how gorgeous she looked earlier in the even with caused her eyes to well up slightly. Even during their love-making, he had almost always put her needs ahead of his, making sure she had been completely satisfied – which set him apart from all the other guys she had been with. Ross dipped in just the tip at first, then pushing in and out at a slow and constant but prolonged motion while arching and gyrating her hips to match his thrusts. Her haggard breaths signaled him to slow down, while her moans and hearing his name repeated spurred him on—either time, they adjusted and accommodated to each type of thrust. Along with their intelligible grunts and groans, her hands clawed at and moved up and down his back as he put his mouth on a taut portion of her skin's neck, biting and licking the area.

He pushed in faster to finish it off, knowing they both were about to orgasm…

"God, we _really_ are good at the stuff," she quipped, both letting out a short chuckle.

---

"So, how was the Barbados sequel?" Chandler cracked yet another joke, cradling a fourteen-month Jack in his arms as the brother-in-laws hung out the past hour or so in his Westchester home with nothing better to do on their days off (of course, Ross had been done for the semester for some time now, but had planned on teaching a couple summer courses in the following week). The last couple of times they had actually seen each other were at the twins' first and Emma's third birthday two months ago.

"Well, better than first…" Ross shot back with a semi-scowl since it reminded him of how the first trip to Barbados had ended and lead to a mini-breakdown, smirking at his fiancée's inability to restrain herself from throwing a cheap shot at her ex, "but seriously, it was great – although Rachel thinks we shouldn't overkill it… like Barry and Aruba."

It felt almost surreal as the two fathers both watched their little girls playing with the colorful blocks with alphabet letters on certain sides, Chandler pointed out, "I swear they're probably going to be 'best friends forever'…"

"So, how's Joey?" Ross inquired.

"The last time we spoke on the phone," Chandler recalled, "He felt awkward about making out with his neighbor – you know the cute blonde one, mentioned something about meeting this actor guy, says it's tough being the only diehard Knick fan in Los Angeles, but Joe's ecstatic about the hiring of Larry Brown for Knicks coach…"

"Right, like that's really going to help," Ross chimed, nodding while processing the information. "Aside from Marbury and Houston, they've got a bunch of scrubs on the team."

"Definitely; although they did get Richardson and James _this_ off-season," Chandler agreed, knowing that his love for the Knicks didn't necessarily diminish, but the seasons of frustration chipped away at his faith in the team with their underachieving. "Thomas as general manager certainly hasn't helped the team as much either…"

"How has motherhood changed Monica?" her brother wondered, certain she would've made a more than just amazing mother.

"Well, she's definitely not as uptight about perfection these days," Chandler paused, smiling at not only his wife's accomplishments, but both for the both of them. "It was difficult the first few months or so, but she's been prepared for this her whole life."

Ross was proud for the both of them, too. And despite seeming like polar opposites, they balanced each other out like him and Rachel. The Geller siblings had helped their respective significant others "grow-up" and "mature" – a pair colloquial phrases used far too often – and they had helped the Gellers not too take everything far too seriously, particularly Monica.

"Anyways, Emma and I have to get going… it's my night to make dinner."

Chandler carried both of his children as the three of them accompanied Ross and Emma to the door although the three-year old toddler wasn't quite prepared to leave yet. Of course, Ross had promised her that they would be visiting Erica and Jack again in a couple days with mommy, which seemed to appease her.

---

**A/N II:** See, contrary to past reviews in other stories, I don't _hate_ Chandler or Monica (okay, maybe just a little when they have storylines together). I still think he's funny, especially in a sparsely used comedic duo that had potential with Ross. Despite the emasculation in later seasons, I assume Chandler's still a Rangers and Knicks fan, just not as knowledgeable on football and baseball. Just venting (and don't forget to review)…


End file.
